White Lies, an engaging alternative rock band out of England, played a super secret gig Tuesday night at the Hollywood Forever cemetery. (That’s not a mistake, you read it right). They played at a mausoleum generally reserved for funeral services in one of the most notorious cemeteries in the country. How many bands can say they play amongst the likes of Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph Valentino and Cecil B. DeMille?

Not necessarily a macabre emo band, White Lies does, however, trend toward the theatrical in both sound and style. The show started promptly at 9pm with a short film that set a dark and serious tone for the evening (you can check it out in its entirety at their website www.whitelies.com). Moody images spliced with the band performing, projected over a stage set up for the band to perform.

When the band finally made their way to the stage the power and volume of their assault enveloped the space in a drunk lovers embrace; sweet, rough and intoxicating all in an instant. The intensity of Harry McVeigh’s vocals lulls you into not just listening but feeling. It was a powerful, well played set, loud enough to wake the dead…oh yes I did, I went there.

Check out White Lies this weekend at Coachella (Friday on the Mojave Stage at 5:45pm). Mr. DeMille, they are ready for their close up!

Words by Barbie Brady, Photos by Sidney McMullen